It Started With A Tweet(57)

‘I’ll take that, thanks,’ I say, pulling the piece of paper out of her hand without needing to see my name written in neat capital letters on the front.

‘What’s that?’ asks Rosie.

‘It’s just from Jack, directions for a good walk I’d asked him about,’ I say as I open up the letter to read, while she’s distracted reading a wad of official-looking papers that came in an A4 brown envelope.





DAISY


ALWAYS GOOD TO KNOW WHEN NEIGHBOURS OR FRIENDS ARE GOING TO GET NAKED IN PUBLIC. BUSTER DOES LIKE A DIP THERE HIMSELF SO I’LL MAKE SURE I KEEP HIM AWAY FROM THERE FOR THE TIME BEING AS WE DON’T WANT TO ADD TO HIS REPUTATION OF NUMBER ONE PERVE IN THE AREA. THAT’S OBVIOUSLY RESERVED FOR RODNEY. FYI – HE LISTENS TO THE ARCHERS WITHOUT FAIL AT 2 P.M., SO A SAFE BET TO HAVE A DIP WITHOUT AN AUDIENCE.

BUSTER AND I WILL BE PLEASED TO SEE IF YOU COME ROUND FOR SOME SUGAR, ALTHOUGH I SHOULD WARN YOU THAT I’M MORE OF A CANDEREL MAN. YOU’RE ALSO MORE THAN WELCOME TO HAVE A SHOWER HERE IF YOU LIKE; WE HAVE A DOOR ON THE BATHROOM AND EVERYTHING.





JACK


P.S. I WOULDN’T HAVE GOOGLED THE PRICE IS RIGHT IF YOU HADN’T KEPT ON MENTIONING IT, BUT IT LED ME DOWN A SURPRISING RABBIT HOLE ON WIKIPEDIA. BET YOU’D NEVER GUESS THE LINK BETWEEN THE PRICE IS RIGHT AND JOHN MAJOR???



Oh my days. What did I write in my letter? You see, this is what’s wrong with actual letter writing. Where’s the archive of what I wrote when I need it? At least with a text message or an email, you’ve left digital footprints of what you said.

I try and force my mind to remember writing it, but it’s all foggy. I remember perching at the table while Rosie was in the loo, and I remember giggling as if I was being terribly witty.

I reread what he’s put, with the words ‘getting naked’ and ‘coming round for sugar’ jumping out. I cringe at what the original note could have contained. Perhaps I should be glad that I don’t remember.

I shove it quickly in my pocket as Rosie stuffs the pages back into the envelope and looks at the rest of the post.

‘Here,’ she says passing me an envelope with a stamp and a postmark. One I can read without fear of cringing. There’s only one person who knows my address and I immediately beam as I tear open the envelope.

I barely notice as Rosie pulls away and heads towards the village.



Daisy!!!

I’ve missed you so much! So you’re surviving up North, then? Sounds .?.?. rustic. I’m so glad that you are making a go of it. I bet if it were me, I’d have been on the first train back down to London.

So, Chris has now officially moved in. The flat smells like boys and we have ridiculous amounts of gadgets for stuff and extra remote controls for who knows what. But the upside is there’s more .?.?. I’d try to draw a camel or some rabbits here, but it would be no better than your aubergine attempt – I’m sure you get the idea .?.?.

The only problem is we’ve both got so much stuff that it’s mega cramped. So, guess what? We’ve taken the big step of making an appointment for an estate agent to come and value the flat and we’re going to buy somewhere together. Somewhere slightly bigger to fit in the remote controls, with enough room for guests so that they can actually stand up.

Other than that, work is busy. I’ve been given a new account, but there’s talk of me getting promoted as early as next year!

I saw Amelie last night for a quick drink after work. We toasted your adventure – which you won’t have seen as we Snapchatted it – but at least you’ll see it when you next log on, if Rosie ever gives you back your phone.

Have you figured out what you’re going to do work wise? Are you going crazy not checking Twitter?

All my love (and more!)

Erica xxxx



My heart sinks as I read the letter. I’ve only been away a week and already my best friend’s life is transforming before my eyes. I’m sure her London flat will be snapped up within days, if not hours, of it going on sale. She’ll be living her suburban life before I know it.

I fold it over and close my eyes as I try to stop myself from crying. Just as my life is spiralling out of control – nowhere to live, no job to go back to – my best friend’s is going from strength to strength with her big promotion on the horizon and buying a house with a boyfriend who adores her. I’m happy for her, I really am, but I can’t help wishing I had reason to be that happy myself. That’s not being selfish, is it? It’s not like I want her to be going through the same crap as me, I just want to be going through the same good stuff as her.

‘Everything OK?’ asks Rosie as we pull into the car park in the village.

I open my eyes and look around at the grey stone buildings in front of me.

‘Fine,’ I say nodding. ‘It’s just that Erica and Chris are selling her flat and buying somewhere together and she might get promoted in her job.’

Rosie nods her head as if she understands what the problem is.

‘I can’t believe I haven’t been a part of any of it. It’s happened so quickly. I know that this whole digital detox is supposed to make me feel less anxious, but I still feel as if I’m missing out on things. After all, Erica’s just one person in the whole world and her life has completely changed. What’s going on with everyone else? Something huge could have happened in the news and we wouldn’t know.’